Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

so after allowing the paint to dry for a few days it was time to start putting the power booster back on

[Gregski]

then the new master cylinder

[Gregski]

Time To Bleed The Brakes

Hey teenager can you help me bleed the brakes ~ I hollered at my 13 year old

"Sure dad I would love to get out of the house and away from this retina damaging computer screen, you think we can fit a big block in here!"

is what I thought I heard, but it was more like

"Can't mom is taking us to get haircuts"

... so it's gonna be another one man brake bleed operation...

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Time To Bleed The Brakes

Hey teenager can you help me bleed the brakes ~ I hollered at my 13 year old

"Sure dad I would love to get out of the house and away from this retina damaging computer screen, you think we can fit a big block in here!"

is what I thought I heard, but it was more like

"Can't mom is taking us to get haircuts"

... so it's gonna be another one man brake bleed operation...

Gravity bleed them :P Or get a one man bleeder that works off a vacuum pump.

[Gregski]

There is a number of ways to bleed the brakes by yourself, I like to use them Speed Bleeder fittings. So I take one out from the rear wheel of my truck and head out to the parts house

Looks like I need the 5/16th -24 fittings - got it.

Hit NAPA - all they got is the 3/8th - 24 ones

Hit Pep Boyz - they don't got any

Hit O'Reilly's - they only go the 3/8th - 24 ones

Finally find a set at AutoZone, cool got it

Come home, screw the first fitting in, swing around to the other side to screw in the other, what the heck, this one is the 3/8ths one, come to the front of the truck these are 3/8ths ones as well

What the heck the only 5/16ths fitting on my truck is that first wheel I tried ~ UNBELIEVABLE!

[Gregski]

so back to the parts house to get more [different] fittings

Fun Fact: the smaller 5/16ths fittings are $14 bucks the larger 3/8ths ones $10

[77K10Silverado]

Always a challenge it seems. Good story!

[Gregski]

also got a chance to paint the tailgate this weekend, and learned you can't walk in to a auto paint supply house and ask them for paint in different sheens, like you do at the Home Depot

Apparently they can't put a flat finish in a rattle can, so it's hard to match your 40 year old paint that has faded over the years, so here's what $50 bucks worth of best match paint and a prayer will do

prepped, and then a shot after each coat

(yes the trick is to put the final coat upside down - now you know how the amateurs do it)

[Gregski]

here's how it turned out - I can live with it... IT"S A TRUCK !!!

whacha all think, not bad for a lawn paint job?

[Motherfrog402]

Of course, now you know you're going to want to do the rest of the truck!

Looks good!

[y5mgisi]

Looks pretty good!

[Titomars]

Looking great there Gregski. I would not mind driving that around as a daily driver myself.

[greg64]

Tailgate looks great, Greg. Brakes look good, do they work good?

After years of bleeding brakes with a helper, I broke down and bought a vacuum bleeder that works off compressed air. I'm never going back. This thing bleeds each wheel cylinder in about 30 seconds and you can do everything by yourself.

What about a rear bumper for Rusty?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by greg64

Tailgate looks great, Greg. Brakes look good, do they work good?

Yes they work, I'm glad. One less thing to worry about.

Originally Posted by greg64

What about a rear bumper for Rusty?

Going with a roll pan, the one with the license plate cut out, like this

[Brent7654]

Back to your fuel delivery issue. The holley you have has a site plug on the passenger side of the fuel bowl. If you think your starving for fuel pull the plug and see if your bowl is filling up.

[enaberif]

Don't do roll pan. Get a nice sport chrome bumper will look so much better.

[rusty76]

You're getting there.

[Chrispbrown36]

I think a black step bumper would look good back there with that olive green color. Never have liked roll pans for some reason though so I am a bit biased.
Really enjoying reading all of this man and I am impressed with your eye for detail. Keep it up man....before too long you will have to change the name to the truck formerly known as Rusty.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Brent7654

Back to your fuel delivery issue. The holley you have has a site plug on the passenger side of the fuel bowl. If you think your starving for fuel pull the plug and see if your bowl is filling up.

Thanks for the tip I will have to look for that.

[Gregski]

Fuel Problem ~ Discovery

Guys maybe you can tell me what is going on when you read this.

So I took the truck for another test drive, identical to the last one. I drove it about a mile to the same gas station, then I shut it off, I waited 10 minutes and then tried to start it. It would not start, it just cranked over and over and over.

I checked the fuel in the see through glass filter right in front of the carb and it was full of nice clean gas.

Here's where it gets interesting:

I pressed the gas pedal all the way down to the floor and held it there while trying to start it, and it fired right up!!!

Gentlemen and Ladies, what does that tell us? What does this mean? Seems like some sort of break through for sure, I just don't know what it means.

[enaberif]

Sounds like you could be boiling out the fuel from the carb. Do you have a heat isolater pad between your intake and the carb? They are usually about 1/4" thick to help with this.

[Oregoon]

This thread rules! Keep up the good work, man!

[Brent7654]

If your floats are adjusted properly you should have a slight little bit of gas spill out when you pull the plug. (On level ground)

[Brent7654]

Is your choke staying closed?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by enaberif

Sounds like you could be boiling out the fuel from the carb. Do you have a heat isolater pad between your intake and the carb? They are usually about 1/4" thick to help with this.

Good point, we're running this split down the middle Holley approved spacer gasket, it is as you describe a 1/4" thick.